Many instances in building construction require roofs covering large areas that are not obstructed with intermediate vertical supporting members such as columns. An example is a sporting or events stadium, where unobstructed views can be sold for premium prices. Seats in stadia with obstructed views are sold much more cheaply than those with a clear view. Another example of such a building is an aircraft hangar that must be wide enough and high enough to accommodate an aircraft having a large wing span and a high tail structure. This is especially true with the advent of so called “super-jumbos” such as the Airbus A380.
Various geometric shapes have been proposed in the prior art for roof structures that effectively cover a large area at a relatively low cost and without the use of intermediate supports. Longitudinal roof spans supported by a series of identical arches can be effective for aircraft hangers, but such roofs also can be expensive and difficult to erect.
Large building structures often take considerable time and manpower to erect. Furthermore, the process of erecting such structures generally requires the use of expensive and skill-intensive tools and equipment, such as large cranes, and significantly skilled labour and engineering resources. Such tools, equipment and resources are often not readily available in many locations, such as developing countries, which further adds to the time and expense required for erecting such structures, and/or limits opportunities to use such structures.
There is therefore a need for an improved beam system and method of erecting a supporting arch.